Grievance and Due Process Procedures

On
proper request for a hearing, as hereinafter provided, the
President of the University shall establish for grievance
hearing an ad hoc committee of three persons and for a due
process hearing an ad hoc committee of five persons. The
committees shall be composed of university personnel
appointed by the President, according to the classification
of the person initiating the request, as follows:

University
Faculty: from among tenured
members of the university
faculty, with not more than one member for a grievance
committee
or two members for a due process committee also holding
administrative appointment.

Non-Faculty Staff:
from among members of the university faculty
and non-faculty staff.

Students:
from among members of the university
faculty, non-
faculty staff, and students.

Toward
assuring a full and impartial hearing strictly on the merits
of the cases, due regard shall be given to appointment to
committees of persons with appropriate expertise and without
bias or direct interest in the outcome, to provision for
peer representation where relevant, and to adherence to
hearing procedures. In making committee appointments, the
President may seek nominations from representative
organizations such as, respectively, the Faculty Senate, and
the Student Government Association. In cases involving a
member of the university faculty as grievant or accused, the
President shall, if so petitioned by the faculty member in
the formal request for a hearing, make the committee
appointments from the appropriate list of nominees
established for such purposes by the Faculty Senate at the
beginning of each academic year, one list to consist of nine
nominees for grievance committees and one list to consist of
fifteen nominees for due process committees. Persons
appointed to grievance or due process committees who deem
themselves disqualified by reasons of bias or interest may
be excused. The grievant or accused shall have the right of
challenge of committee appointments for cause and if in the
judgment of the President a challenge is supported by
adequate grounds, the member so challenged shall be excused.
The President shall appoint replacements for members excused
until a proper committee is established. The President shall
designate one member of the committee to act as chair or may
appoint an additional ex officio nonvoting member to act as
chair. The committees may adopt supplemental rules and
regulations for their governance and operation which are not
in conflict with this resolution.

A
grievance is a complaint directed against another member or
organization of the university community or against the
University--including the departments, divisions, and
schools thereof--alleging improper, arbitrary, or
discriminatory application of university rules, regulations,
standards, practices, and/or procedures relating to the
conditions of employment or enrollment, or to other
circumstances giving proper grounds for complaint. Grievance
procedures do not apply to actions involving suspension,
expulsion, dismissal, or other termination of employment or
enrollment for cause. For
such actions reference is made to the procedures under “Due
Process”, below.

Informal procedures

A
grievant first must seek resolution or redress of the
grievance informally through the established administrative
channels beginning, according to the grievant's
classification and to the nature of the grievance, with the
official at the first or immediate level of authority, and,
if required, continuing in the chain of authority to the
next higher level. For university employees, the complaint
of a faculty member normally will be directed to the
department head/director with continuation in line to the
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost; for
nonfaculty staff, to the immediate supervisor/director or to
the Director of Human Resources and Affirmative Action with
continuation in line to the appropriate vice president. For
students, a complaint involving services or activities
normally will be directed to the appropriate
director/officer of the service or activity with
continuation in line to the Vice President for Student
Affairs and University Counsel; on a complaint involving
academic or instructional matters, to the academic
department head with continuation in line to the Vice
President for Academic Affairs and Provost. Complaint by an
applicant who has been denied admission to the University
will be directed to the Dean of Enrollment Services with
continuation in line to the Vice President for Academic
Affairs and Provost. Complaint by an applicant who has been
denied employment at the University will be directed, for
applicants to faculty positions, to the Vice President for
Academic Affairs and Provost; for applicants to nonfaculty
staff positions, to the Director of Human Resources and
Affirmative Action with continuation in line to the Vice
President for Business Affairs.

Formal
hearing

If,
after exhausting recourse through established administrative
channels, the grievant still feels that a satisfactory
remedy or relief has not been provided, the grievant may
request a formal hearing. The request shall be
directed to the President of the University in writing and
shall bear the grievant's name, current address, and
telephone number; a clear statement of the nature of the
grievance and the facts supporting it; the remedy or relief
sought; the date; and the grievant's signature.

On
receipt of the grievant's request, the President shall
proceed to the establishment of a proper Grievance Committee
to hear the case, as provided for under Grievance and Due
Process Committees
above and shall give the grievant not less than seven days'
advance notice as to the date, time, and place set for the
hearing.

Grievance
hearing procedures:
A grievance hearing is not an
administrative due process hearing and therefore does
not include all
of those procedures provided for in due process
hearings; neither do
formal rules of evidence apply. The hearing shall be
confidential and
only those persons concerned should be included in the
hearing.

Functions of the Grievance Committee:
The Committee or
Committee Chair may
confer with the
grievant prior to the
hearing to schedule
witnesses, provide for the exchange of
documents, and achieve
other appropriate objectives to make
the procedures fair,
effective, and expeditious. In the hearing,
the Committee may
question the grievant and the witnesses
presented by the
grievant, may call such witnesses and examine
such documents as it
considers necessary, and shall keep a
record of the hearing.

The Committee's role is to investigate the complaint as
presented
to the Committee by the
grievant, to obtain all the facts in the
dispute, and to come to a
conclusion as to whether or not the
grievant has just cause
for complaint. In grievances which are
contractual in nature,
the Committee's role is to determine
whether or not the
grievant has had all the benefits of the
procedures afforded by
the grievant's contract and the rules and
regulations of the
University, school, and department, and
whether or not the
decision which forms the basis for the
complaint was the result
of adequate consideration in terms of
the relevant standards of
the University, school, and department.
It is not within the
scope of the Committee to make judgments
on the professional
qualifications of the grievant, such being the
responsibility of the
administrators within the concerned
department, school, and
the University. The Committee shall be
guided in its decisions
only by the evidence presented at the
hearing.

Rights and responsibilities of the
grievant: It is the responsibility
of the grievant to
present all the facts and to prove the merits of
the grievance. To this
end the grievant shall state the grievance
with specificity, shall
be allowed to present witnesses and
documents on the
grievant's behalf, and to examine any other
witnesses and documents
presented. The grievant shall not be
represented by counsel
but may have the assistance of an
adviser of his choice
from among personnel of the university
community.

The Committee's report and final
action: Upon conclusion of the
hearing, the Grievance
Committee shall prepare a report
summarizing the evidence
and rendering its conclusions.
Copies
of the report shall be
sent to the President and to the grievant.
Within 14 days of the
receipt of the report, the President, giving
due weight to the report
of the Committee, shall render a
decision and so notify
the grievant. Should the President's
decision be inconsistent
with the report of the Committee, the
President shall state his
reasons to the grievant and to the
Committee. The
President's action shall be final, expect that a
grievant may appeal a
reversed or modified decision to a
subcommittee of the Board
of Trustees.

To
assure the protection of individual rights and due process
in actions involving the suspension, dismissal, or other
termination for cause of university employees, the following
procedures may be invoked by written request of the affected
employee:

Due
process procedures

Initiation of action:
Any person may call to the President's
attention in any reasonable manner--directly or through
channels--
any conduct or circumstance of any member of the
university
community thought to be violative of university rules
or regulations
or otherwise to merit action involving suspension,
dismissal, or other
termination for cause. The President, of his own
volition, may
investigate any such conduct or circumstance. If, after
investigation, the President is of the opinion that
such action should
be taken, he shall give the person so accused or
affected proper
notice of the action proposed.

Notice
of proposed action:
The President's notice to the accused
of the action proposed shall be in writing by certified
or registered
mail or by such other appropriate means as may provide
delivery and
proof of receipt. The notice also shall contain:

­ a
statement of the charges or conditions supporting the
action proposed;
­ notice
of the accused's right to a full and fair hearing before a
Due Process Committee;
­ notice
that such hearing shall be afforded only if requested in
writing within ten days from the date of receipt of the
Notice
of Proposed Action, and that, if such request for a hearing
is
not received within this time limit, the right to a hearing
shall
be deemed to have been waived and the proposed action shall
be imposed therewith or as specified in the notice; and
­
information as to where a copy of the hearing procedures may
be obtained.

Due process hearing:
If proper request for a hearing is made, the
hearing shall be afforded not sooner than 14 or later
than 21 days
from the date of receipt of the request, unless, by
mutual
agreement, other time limits are established by written
agreement.
On receipt of the request, the President shall proceed
with the
establishment of an appropriate Due Process Committee
(as provided
for under Grievance and Due Process Committees, above),
informing
the accused of the names of the members and providing
reasonable
opportunity and time for exercise of the rights of
challenge. When a
proper Due Process Committee is established, the
accused shall be
notified in writing of the date, time, and place set
for the hearing at
least seven days before the hearing. The notice shall
contain the
names of the witnesses and a summary of the nature of
the
testimony and evidence to be presented against the
accused, and
the accused and/or the accused's representative shall
be permitted
to inspect, at least three days in advance of the
hearing, any
affidavits or exhibits the University intends to submit
at the hearing.
However, the foregoing shall not prevent the
presentation of
evidence or testimony by the University that has not
been disclosed
to the accused, provided the University has good cause
or
justification for failure to disclose. The President
shall designate an
appropriate person or persons to present the case for
the University.

Not
later than three days before the hearing, the accused shall
present to the University or its attorney a list of the
names,
addresses, and telephone numbers of all witnesses
expected to be
called to testify and the nature of the testimony and
evidence to be
offered by each witness. The university representative
shall be
permitted to inspect at least three days in advance of
the hearing
any affidavits or exhibits the accused intends to
submit at the
hearing. However, the foregoing shall not prevent the
presentation of
evidence or testimony by the accused that has not been
disclosed
to the University, provided the accused has good cause
or
justification for failure to disclose.

At the
discretion of the President, the accused may be suspended
during the proceeding if immediate harm to the accused
or to others
is threatened by continuance or if there is other just
and sufficient
cause supported by substantial evidence. Unless
forbidden by law,
the salary or wages of the university employee so
suspended will be
continued during the time of suspension.

Committee procedures: The
Committee or the Committee Chair
may confer with the parties
prior to the hearing in order to review
procedures, provide for
scheduling of witnesses and for any
necessary exchange of documents
or other information, and to
achieve such other objectives
as may make the hearing fair,
effective, and expeditious. The
Committee may consider, in
advance of the hearing, the
statement of grounds for the
proposed action already
formulated and such written response as
the accused may elected to
submit.

The Committee shall be responsible for establishing the
order of
procedure, for conducting the
question of witnesses, for
securing—if necessary--the
presentation of evidence important to
the case, and for
developing such supplemental rules and
procedures for its governance
and operation as are not in conflict
with other provisions of this
resolution.

The Committee, in consultation with the parties concerned,
shall
exercise its judgment as to
whether the hearing shall be private or
public.

Hearing procedures: The due
process hearing shall be governed
by the following rules
and regulations:
­
The accused shall be permitted to have legal counsel
and/or an adviser of the accused's choice. The University
shall be permitted to have legal counsel.

­
The accused shall be afforded the right to present his
version as to the charges or circumstances and to present
his case by way of such statements, affidavits, witnesses,
and exhibits as he desires. The accused shall be afforded
an opportunity to obtain necessary witnesses and
documentary or other evidence, and the University will
reasonably cooperate with the Committee in securing
witnesses and in making available documentary and other
evidence.

­
The accused and the University shall have the right to
confront and cross-examine all witnesses. The Committee
may grant adjournments to either party to permit the
investigation of evidence to which a claim of surprise is
made.

­
The Committee shall not be bound by strict rules of legal
evidence and may admit any evidence which is of probative
value in determining the issues involved. Reasonable effort
should be made to obtain the most reliable evidence
available.

­The
burden of proof that adequate cause exists rests with
the University and will be satisfied only by a preponderance
(majority) of the evidence. The findings of fact in the
decision shall be based solely on the hearing record.

­ An audio recording of the
hearing shall be made and the
audio recording of the hearing shall be made available to
the
accused and the University on request and without charge.

­ Except for such simple
announcements as may be required
covering the time of the hearing and similar matters,
publicity and public statements about the case by either
party will be avoided.

Committee decision and report:
On conclusion of the hearing, the
Due Process Committee in
executive session shall, by majority
vote and solely on the
basis of the evidence presented at the
hearing, decide whether
or not the evidence in the record has
established adequate
cause for the action proposed, and, on the
basis of that decision,
shall recommend to the President the
disposition of the case.
If the Committee concludes that
adequate cause has been
established but that a proper penalty
less than that proposed
would be more appropriate, it may so
recommend with supporting
reasons. The Committee's decision
and recommendations shall
be reduced to a written report which
shall be forwarded, along
with the record of the hearing, to the
President. A copy of the
Committee's report shall be sent to the
accused by certified
mail.

President's
decision: Within 14 days of the receipt of the
report,
the President, giving due
weight to the report of the Committee,
shall render a decision
and so notify the accused in writing.
Should the President's
decision be inconsistent with the report of
the Committee, the
President shall state his reasons to the
accused and to the
Committee. The President's action shall be
final, except that the
accused may appeal a reversed or modified
action to a subcommittee
of the Board of Trustees.

Exceptions to Due Process Procedures:

Student discipline: This
procedure shall not be construed in any manner to apply to
or affect the operation of student-operated procedures which
may impose discipline short of suspension, expulsion, or
dismissal, or to matters covered by the Student Disciplinary
System Manual.

Academic probation, suspension, and dismissal: This
procedure shall not be construed in any manner to give any
right of hearing of any nature to students placed on
academic probation or suspended or dismissed because of
academic insufficiency.

Reorganizations, reductions in force, and nonrenewal of
non-tenured faculty contracts:
This procedure shall not be construed to limit the
administrative discretion of the President to elect not to
renew contracts of non-tenured personnel of the University or
to terminate or abolish certain positions in the University
for economic or other legitimate, nondiscriminatory, and
constitutionally permissible reasons. In such situations,
the person whose contract is not renewed or whose employment
is otherwise terminated shall not have an absolute right to
a hearing before a Due Process Committee; provided, however,
that if the person whose position is so severed is of the
opinion that such action has deprived him of "liberty" or of
a "property interest" in continued employment, he may,
within ten days of severance notice, make written petition
to the President to invoke the due process procedures
provided herein and may be granted such a hearing at the
President's sole discretion.

At will employees:
At will employees are not entitled to due process procedures
upon their termination from employment unless an adverse
action against them infringes a "liberty" or "property"
interest of the employee, or the President expressly grants
them that right in a letter imposing the adverse action.

Definitions

­
Masculine pronouns used herein shall be deemed to include
and refer
to females as well as to males.

­ The
term "University" when used herein without further
designation
shall refer to the University of North Alabama.

­ The
term "President" when used herein without further
designation
shall refer to the President of the University
of North Alabama.

­ The phrase "university community" when used herein shall
refer to
the students, faculty, and non-faculty staff members
and
employees of the University of North Alabama.